Our Story

Project Biodiversify was spearheaded by Ash Zemenick and Marjorie Weber, who are community and evolutionary ecologists that care a great deal about fostering inclusivity and increasing diversity in STEM. Their idea for the project was supported via a National Science Foundation’s Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology – Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology.

Dr. Ash Zemenick

Dr. Marjorie Weber

Dr. Alex Webster

Dr. Sarah Jones

Aaron Slater

Dr. Allison Simler-Williamson

Inclusive Pedagogy

Dr. Alex Webster and Dr. Sarah Jones have been critical in our efforts to generate methods for teaching sex-related topics in biology in a more accurate and inclusive manner.

Alex is an ecosystem and landscape ecologist. She is currently a post-doc at University of Alaska, Fairbanks, where she is studying ecological resilience and the response of stream biogeochemisty to destabilizing permafrost and changing fire regimes. She is passionate about promoting diversity and inclusivity in STEM. In addition to her work with Project Biodiversity, she is a founding member of the Society for Freshwater Science’s ad hoc Diversity and Inclusivity committee, which is examining the role of scientific societies in promoting D&I. Alex and Ash met as graduate students in the Ecology Graduate Group at University of California, Davis, where they were early contributors to the GGE Diversity Committee.

Sarah is a behavioral ecologist and who just finished her PhD at Michigan State University. Her dissertation focused on the the evolution and physiological control of female aggression, using spotted hyenas as a model system. She is passionate about working with both scientists and educators to improve science education and to bring accurate and up-to-date science into the classroom. She has worked towards these goals via participation in groups such as the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education Program and Inside Teaching MSU.

Upkeep and Submissions

Aaron Slater is the newest member of our team who is helping to build and upkeep Project Biodiversify! Aaron is currently a senior undergraduate at Michigan State University, finishing a degree in zoology with a concentration in ecology, evolution, and organismal biology. His research interests involve plant-animal interactions and the dynamics of trait evolution. Thanks to Michigan State University’s Department of Plant Biology for funding!

Logo Design

Our fantastic logo was graciously designed by Dr. Allison Simler-Williamson. Allison is a scientist and artist who got her PhD in Ecology in the Rizzo Lab at UC Davis and earned her bachelor’s degree in Studio Art from Duke University. Her ecological research focuses on the impacts of human-altered disturbance regimes in coast redwood and mixed evergreen forests, but she is also passionate about using the visual arts to communicate her own and others’ scientific research. She has received commissions to create artwork focused on scientific themes for PLOS and the Jepson Herbarium, and she has worked closely with the UC Davis Art-Science fusion program, a series of undergraduate courses that combine scientific topics and artistic media to teach visual literacy and communication

Turning the idea into a reality

Project Biodiversify would not have been possible without the support of many wonderful people: